Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Twice a month I collect and curate articles, whitepapers, webinars, templates and guides – all free – that I encounter in my readings across the web. They’re my gift to you, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy finding them for you.
As you may know, my motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it!”
That’s why I also offer my virtual year-round ‘Clairification School,’ with an extraordinarily modest tuition. Because I’ve got a LOT more to share with you based on my 35 years’ experience – 30 of them in the trenches – plus all the new things I learn every day in my practice.
If you find value in Clairification, please sign up now for all the benefits ‘Clairification School’ has to offer. It’s as free of a ‘public school’ as I can make it, while covering expenses.
Your support makes it possible and, truly, means a lot.
P.S. I’m also available for one-on-one coaching, and offer up to four deeply discounted hours to members of the Clairification community. Please email me at claire@clairification.com if you have any questions.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Individual Giving
Click-it: What your donation buys: How to get a 42% lift in revenue. It may just be me, but the findings from the study referenced in this article from Donor Voice seem very, very common sense/logical/obvious. Whether they do to you or not, I suggest you take them to heart. It just makes sense to compare apples to apples – especially when you know it’s based on research!
Content Marketing
Click-it: How to Sell More: 3 Steps to the Perfect Sales Pitch Online. Derek Halpern of Social Triggers shares his “B.A.B.” method of going from a (Before) problem-filled world to a (After) dream-filled world by giving folks a Bridge to do so.
Click-it: Why You Should Launch a Content Marketing Program for Your Nonprofit. Julie Ann Cooper (who I just found thanks to Tom Ahern’s blog) cogently and patiently explains what content marketing is, and why it’s important. Brilliant minds think alike (see my Nonprofit Social Media Without a Content Marketing Strategy Sucks).
Donor Retention
Click-it: Want Fundraising Success? Adopt This Mindset. Zach Shefska of The Fundraising Report Card makes a case for prioritizing donor retention over acquisition. If you’re having time persuading leadership to invest in retention, let your data do the talking!
Click-it: 10 Strategies to Earn and Keep Nonprofit Donor Trust. If you read Zach’s post, above, shining a light on the problem, now you should read my guest post on the Neon blog for simple steps that pack a big punch.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Do you want to know why you can’t find a great development director? This is a spot-on article from Mary Cahalane at Hands-On Fundraising. Make sure your leadership (staff and board) reads it.
Click-it: Creative Interview Questions to Find Your Next Great Hire. This is a thought-provoking article from Joan Garry Consulting – one that could help you find a great hire or land a great job!
Click-it: Are Your Employees Management Material? 10 Traits To Keep In Mind. One of the most cost-effective ways to find new development staff is to recruit from within. Find out if you have a promotable employee (or whether you yourself might qualify) by reading these tips from Raphael Magaña
Click-it: All it takes is effort. I read Seth Godin daily. If you don’t, start. He offers pithy commentary that, somehow, always strikes a chord. This one is about customer service. Are you prioritizing your investment in this? It’s essential to your long-term fundraising health. Maybe begin with your Home Page and Donation Landing Page. How user-friendly and donor-centric are they?
Major Gift & Capital Campaign Fundraising
Click-it: 3 Key Strategies Needed to Become a Major Philanthropic Gifts Wizard. Summer is a great time to get ready for year-end major gifts fundraising. Towards this end, check out my latest guest post on the Guidestar blog.
Click-it: 5 Proven Ways to Find Nonprofit Major Donor Prospects. People constantly ask me where they can find viable major donor prospects. In this article for Nonprofit Pro, I address this question.[I also cover this in my free webinar for Qgiv on July 11th; see below under “Free Learning Opportunities”]
Click-it: Back to ‘A, B, C’ Nonprofit Major Gift Program Essentials. There’s no substitute for the basics. This is true with anything in life, and major gifts development is no exception. The basics may be boring, but they’re fundamental to your success – as I describe in this article for Nonprofit Pro.
Click-it: Major Donor Surveys: A Three Year Case Study. This super-useful article from the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training includes a sample survey template you can use to build a better major donor pipeline.
Click-it: The Best Naming Policy is Having a Policy! Planning a capital campaign? You’ll want to think about naming opportunities. This article from Ann Goldman at Front Range Source includes a free, downloadable naming policy template. Cool, right?
Click-it: How to create donor recognition opportunities for your fundraising campaign. Robin Cabral of Development Consulting Solutions walks you through how to set up naming recognition opportunities and determine “curb appeal.”
Overhead Myth
Click-it: Broken for Good: The Way Charity Works in the United States of America [Documentary film trailer]. This is a well told tale of the upside down world of nonprofit management. It offers a new approach to confront the “starvation cycle” that’s paralyzed the charitable sector for the past fifty years. What do you think?
Sponsorships
Click-it: 27 Things You Can Do to Bring in More Sponsorship Dollars Right Now. This is really links to 27 different articles, each of which has concrete tips to help you ramp up support from the business community. Many thanks to Chris Baylis of The Sponsorship Collective.
Trends
Click-it: Una Osili, Director of Research, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy: An Update on Giving. Read up on the meaning of the latest Giving USA Report, courtesy of the Foundation Center’s Philanthropy News Digest.
FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The more you learn, the more you grow.
Note: For many of these webinars you can obtain a copy of the recording if you’re unable to join live – as long as you register!
Annual Individual Giving
Click-it: The Secret to Raising Money in a New Political Era [Register for free webinar, 7-18-17]. Do traditional fundraising techniques still work in a new political era? In this webinar sponsored by Donor Search, Scott Koskoski of Crouch & Associates will highlight new realities of development in America and demonstrate how to leverage current events and attitudes to help your organization fundraise more effectively.
Click-it: How to Think Like a Donor [Register for free webinar, 8-20-17]. Bloomerang sponsors Rachel Muir for this webinar that’s sure to be packed with great donor-centered tips.
Click-it: Matching Gifts: Become an Expert and Grow Your Organization’s Fundraising Revenue [Register for free on-demand webinar] Top Nonprofits hosts Adam Wenger of Double the Donation with tips to assure you don’t miss out on this often overlooked opportunity to leverage your donors’ gifts.
Major Gifts
Click-it: Smart Tips to Identify, Screen, Rate and Qualify Major Donor Prospects [Register for free webinar, 7-11-17]. Did you know 80% of your fundraising success can be credited to building a proper, manageable major gifts portfolio? Join me and host Qgiv to discover how to create your perfect pool of donor-investors and build a manageable caseload of folks likely to make a major gift to your organization.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Online Tools that Help Nonprofits Learn, Listen & Engage [Register for free webinar – exclusive for Clairification Community, 7-12-17]. I’m delighted to welcome Jay Wilkinson of Firespring to Clairification on July 12th for a one-time-only webinar – with ample time to answer your questions about how to may technology your friend rather than your nemesis. Jay is a fountain of information, and you won’t want to miss this one!
FREE DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
Benchmark Data
Click-it: 2016 Individual Benchmark Donor Data Brief. Get the infographic and report just released by Third Space Studio with data to help you benchmark your fundraising results.
Marketing Communications
Click-it: 3 Email Tactics Every Gift Officer Should Be Using [Article plus free template to download] Fearless Fundraising offers this gift of an email template you can use to set up a visit with a prospective donor.
Social Media Strategy
Click-it: How to Craft a Social Media Marketing Strategy That Drives Success [Download Social Media Marketing Strategy Template]. Read the article from Co-Schedule and download the free Power Point to present the strategy to your team plus the free report template to share your successes.
FEATURED CLAIRIFICATION RESOURCE
Want to Attend Major Gifts Wizard School?
There’s money on the table – it’s time for you to stop leaving it there. Learn how with my 8-week online course: Winning Major Gift Fundraising Strategies. If you’re serious about fundraising – no matter your size — you’ve got to get serious about investing in major gifts solicitation. There’s no more cost-effective fundraising strategy. It’s a struggle to figure out how to do it on your own, and it wastes time. Enroll yourself and your team (up to six people per organization for one fee).
SAVINGS ALERT: If you haven’t yet joined Clairification School, now is the perfect time to do so! You’ll more than make up your $100 annual tuition fee with the $200 discount you’ll receive on the 8-week E-Course. You can enroll + get the e-course discount with one click HERE.
You can’t afford not to ask for major gifts. Over an 8-week period you’ll learn everything you need to succeed in finding, cultivating and soliciting those philanthropists who are likely to account for 80 – 95% of your total fundraising. Don’t be pennywise and pound-foolish here. Research shows for every training like this you take, you’ll increase your contributed income by $37,000 on average. That will more than cover your tuition.
CAREER ALERT: If you know how to raise major gifts, you’ll not only take your organization to the next level – you’ll be in high demand in the nonprofit world. Seize the day! Get an extra $100 off by registering before midnight July 12th.
